Confession time… how many of you have a CD of images from a past photo session collecting dust in the back of a drawer? You know, shoved all the way in the back behind the post-it notes and old dried up pens? Can you find that old CD, or did it fall victim to puppy teeth or little fingers? Or maybe you know exactly where the CD is, but you don’t even have a CD drive on your laptop anymore?

My guess is most of you would say you downloaded the photographs at one time and shared with your friends and family on Facebook. You received some likes and comments and then your photographs and happy memories were quickly forgotten.

Well they don’t have to be! Simply print. those. pictures. There is no excuse: online photo labs are so convenient - you can design, order, and receive your prints all from the comfort of home, even wearing your jammies! And wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy your happy memories every single day by seeing them on your wall, coffee table, desk, or shelves?

Here’s what to do with that CD of digital photographs:

1) Download them to your computer.

2) Back them up to two separate storage media. No seriously, back. them. up. With hard drives it’s not a question of if they will fail, it’s when they will fail. I recommend one medium being an online backup program.

3) Print your images.

4) Enjoy!

"But where should I have my photographs printed?"

Good question! Not all photo labs are created equal. I recommend mpix for consumer products – they offer a wide variety of products and the results are consistently good. I do not recommend drugstore, kiosks, one-hour photo labs, or groupon deals as the color management is typically poor resulting in wonky-looking photographs. You really don’t want your children and pets looking orange or green!

"But I don’t have time and I'm not creative!"

No problem, here are two simple suggestions on what to print if you are short on time or creativity:

1) Choose one or two favorites and have them printed on a gallery-wrapped canvas. No additional framing is needed, so it will be ready to hang on the wall as soon as it arrives.

2) Can’t pick a favorite? Then print them all as 4x6 to insert into an old school photo album with the plastic slip-in pages.

Whether you print big or small, it doesn’t matter. The possibilities are endless. The point is just do it – I guarantee seeing your memories displayed in your house will make you smile.

Need help deciding how to display images of your furry family members? Let’s talk! I offer a wide variety of professional quality archival products. So if you're one of those with limited time and creativity, I can do all the work for you!